hero media

This off-grid Blue Mountains cabin was just crowned Airbnb’s best nature escape

Kassia Byrnes Kassia Byrnes
Airbnb just unveiled the winners of its 2025 Australian Host Awards, and the lineup will have you booking your next getaway.

From a heritage-listed Hobart bakery turned boutique retreat to a nature-filled sanctuary in Kangaroo Valley, Airbnb has announced the winners of six categories in its annual Australian Host Awards. Officially, the awards celebrate the creativity, care and community impact of local hosts across the country. Unofficially, they help you pick your next awesome getaway, with accommodation to boot.

“Our local Aussie hosts are shaping the future of travel by creating spaces that reflect local culture, foster genuine connection and support their communities," shared Susan Wheeldon, Airbnb’s Country Manager for Australia.

outdoor bath at Ligo, airbnb winner Australian Host Awards
Picture yourself in Australia’s best Airbnbs, like Ligo.

“Their hospitality is more than just welcoming guests. These hosts actively support small businesses, help to revitalise neighbourhoods, and hosting provides families with an income stream. These award-winning stays demonstrate the powerful role Airbnb hosting plays in fostering economic opportunity and community-led tourism."

Winning hosts were selected based on extensive Airbnb data, guest scores and reviews, with oversight from a panel of judges. The annual awards recognise hosts who go above and beyond, welcoming guests with warmth, thoughtful design and local flavour. And while there are many ways to be a winner, it’s Ligo’s outdoor bathtub surrounded by the stunning Blue Mountains that has us reaching for our leave forms.

Best Nature Stay – Ligo, Wolgan Valley

aerial of Ligo, airbnb winner Australian Host Awards
Take in the beauty of the Blue Mountains.

This off-grid Blue Mountains escape (and its outdoor bathtub) has us hooked. The winner of the Best Nature Stay (awarded to stays which showcase the best of Australia’s stunning natural landscape) is Ligo in Wolgan Valley.

As an award-winning tiny house retreat set in the heart of the Wolgan Valley, it offers a peaceful escape in the UNESCO-listed Blue Mountains National Park. Built from reclaimed materials after bushfires and floods, this off-grid escape offers cosy interiors, passive heating and cooling and expansive bushland views.

“Ligo is a masterpiece of minimal, low-impact, off-grid design," said Huang. “It merges wilderness and architecture with humility and intention. The outdoor bath, reclaimed timber, solar innovations and immersive wild setting make this a deeply atmospheric escape – elegant in its restraint."

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

AI Prompt

Host of the Year – Braithwaite, Hobart

hosts of the year Braithwait airbnb winner Australian Host Awards
Join the country’s best hosts at Braithwaite.

It would be remiss of us not to mention the winners of the coveted Host of the Year prize, recognising hosts who have gone above and beyond this year. In 2025, winning Airbnb rental, Braithwaite, is a chic heritage-listed former bakery turned boutique courtyard apartment stay in Sandy Bay.

This heritage-listed offering was thoughtfully restored with vintage charm and modern luxuries like a king-size bed, a sunlit courtyard with a full-size outdoor bath.

Panel judge, Sarah Huang, described it as a “hyper-personalised, emotionally resonant hosting. They don’t just provide a stay, they create a moment in time that’s deeply meaningful. Whether it’s a handwritten note referencing a guest’s life or welcoming descendants of original bakers, these hosts transform history into hospitality. Guests often cancel their plans just to stay in."

Best Design Stay – Banksia House, Sunshine Coast

the pool at Banksia House, airbnb winner airbnb winner Australian Host Awards
Soak in the unique design of Banksia House.

This category recognises the hosts who have a unique and amazingly distinctive home, and Banksia House earned its crown.

This striking coastal retreat on Caloundra’s headland was designed by a landscape architect to immerse guests in nature and reap its calming benefits. The rental home features a magnesium pool, bocce court, two fireplaces and outdoor baths and showers; all set among lush gardens. Separate living and sleeping pavilions are linked by breezy courtyards, with raw, tactile materials and seamless indoor-outdoor flow.

“Guests highlight its Scandinavian simplicity, earth tones and calming energy," said panel judge Sarah Huang. “This is a masterclass in rugged luxury. Every detail, from the absence of plasterboard to the immersive gardens, tells a story of raw nature meeting refined thought. The flow between architecture and landscape creates a meditative, outdoor-centric living experience. The design is minimal yet luxurious, perfect for rest and retreat."

Find the full list of award finalists at airbnb.com.au.

Want to see more stories from Australian Traveller in your Google search results?

  1. Click here to set Australian Traveller as a preferred source.
  2. Tick the box next to "Australian Traveller". That's it.
Kassia Byrnes
Kassia Byrnes is the Native Content Editor for Australian Traveller and International Traveller. She's come a long way since writing in her diary about family trips to Grandma's. After graduating a BA of Communication from University of Technology Sydney, she has been writing about her travels (and more) professionally for over 10 years for titles like AWOL, News.com.au, Pedestrian.TV, Body + Soul and Punkee. She's addicted to travel but has a terrible sense of direction, so you can usually find her getting lost somewhere new around the world. Luckily, she loves to explore and have new adventures – whether that’s exploring the backstreets, bungee jumping off a bridge or hiking for days. You can follow her adventures on Instagram @probably_kassia.
View profile and articles
the aurora australis (southern lights) from Southern Ocean Lodge
Australia

These luxury lodges give you a front-row seat to the sky’s greatest light show

The hottest new accommodation amenity is 400 light-years away – and it might be the most compelling reason yet to book a holiday this season.

Read more
The Whale Narooma view from room retro motels
Australia

17 road trip-worthy retro motels

Retro motels are making a comeback into road trip itineraries – and these charming motel stays are far from old-fashioned.

Read more
Longitude 131, NT
Australia

The Aussie hotels missing from Condé Nast’s Triple Crown Hotels list

Condé Nast has released a new Triple Crown Hotels list, but there are some gaping omissions.

Read more
red rock hut king island airbnb
Australia

Australia’s most wishlisted Airbnbs revealed for 2026

Airbnb has released a selection of its most wishlisted homes in Australia for 2026.

Read more

How a $1 deal saved Bendigo’s historic tramways

    Megan Arkinstall Megan Arkinstall
    Continue
    The passionate community that saved Bendigo Tramways has kept the story of this city alive for generations.

    It was an absolute steal: a fleet of 23 trams for just $1. But such a fortunate purchase didn’t happen easily. It was 1972 when the Bendigo Trust handed over a single buck for the city’s historic collection of battery, steam and electric trams, which had transported locals since 1890.

    inside the historic Bendigo Tram
    Bendigo Tramways is a historic transport line turned tourist service. (Image: Bendigo Heritage)

    The city’s tram network had been declared defunct since 1970 due to post-war shortages in materials to upkeep the trams and declining passenger numbers as motor vehicles were increasing. However, determined locals would not hear of their beloved trams being sold off around the world.

    The Bendigo Trust was enlisted to preserve this heritage, by converting the trams into a tourist service. The Victorian government approved a trial, however news spread that the Australian Electric Tramways Museum in Adelaide had acquired one of the streetcars for its collection.

    a tram heading to Quarry Hill in 1957
    A tram on its way to Quarry Hill in 1957. (Image: Bendigo Heritage)

    An impassioned group rallied together to make this physically impossible. Breaking into the tram sheds, they welded iron pipes to the rails, removed carbon brushes from the motors, and formed a blockade at the depot. The community response was extraordinary, and a $1 deal was sealed.

    A new chapter for the city’s fleet

    the old Tramways Depot and Workshop
    The old Tramways Depot and Workshop is one of the stops on the hop-on, hop-off service. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Today, Bendigo Tramways welcomes some 40,000 passengers annually, operating as a hop-on, hop-off touring service aboard the restored trams. Fifteen of the now 45-strong fleet are dubbed ‘Talking Trams’ because of the taped commentary that is played along the route. The trams loop between Central Deborah Gold Mine and the Bendigo Joss House Temple, which has been a place of Chinese worship since 1871, via other sites including the old Tramways Depot and Workshop.

    a Gold Mine Bendigo Tram
    The fleet comprises 45 trams that have been restored. (Image: Visit Victoria/Robert Blackburn)

    Keeping things interesting, throughout the year visitors can step aboard different themed trams. Tram No. 302 becomes the Yarn Bomb Tram, decorated both inside and out with colourful crochet by an anonymous group of locals.

    During the festive season, Tram No. 15 operates as a tinsel-festooned Santa Tram, and the big man himself hides out somewhere along the route for excited children to find. And on selected dates, the adults-only Groove Tram runs nighttime tours of the city, accompanied by local musicians playing live tunes and a pop-up bar.

    the historic post office turned visitor centre in Bendigo
    Visitors can hop on and off to see the city’s sites such as the historic post office turned visitor centre. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    As well as preserving the city’s history, however, the continuation of the tram service has kept the skills of tram building and craftsmanship alive in a practical sense. Bendigo’s Heritage Rail Workshop is world-renowned for restoring heritage trams and repurposing vehicles in creative ways.

    Locally, for example, Tram No. 918 was transformed into the Dja Dja Wurrung Tram with original Aboriginal artworks by emerging artist Natasha Carter, with special commentary and music that shares the stories and traditions of Bendigo’s first people. You can’t put a price on preserving history. Nonetheless, it was a dollar very well spent.